


oh to be in love

by Anonymous



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, seulreneau
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:22:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23259862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Kang Seulgi is a freelance artist and at the age of 25, someone looking for a good and steady relationship. With a bit of push from her friends, she tries out a dating app only to discover it's going to take a lot of trial and errors before she gets things right. But perhaps, it might not be a dating app that will help her meet the true love of her life...
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19
Collections: Seulrene





	1. you have to start somewhere

I

Seulgi settled herself in her car and sighed. it was Friday night, the end of another busy week and she had gone on another date. One that ended being vehemently underwhelming. It was only a month ago that she gave into her best friend's nagging and bravely made a profile on Tinder and got back into the dating game. 

For her first date, she went to a movie with her date who was a lawyer. What she hoped for was for them to go to dinner afterwards and get to know each other. And if by chance things started awkwardly, they could talk about the movie they had just watched and go on from there. However, her date ended up being a thoroughly opinionated woman who not only trashed and picked apart the movie they had watched (it was Little Women, what was there to complain about really???), she went on to speak rudely at the waiter for forgetting one of the side dishes they had ordered. To say she was a stuck up bitch would be an understatement. Seulgi was ecstatic when her Mum ended up calling her during the dinner that she quickly made an excuse and as kids these days would say, noped the fuck out of the place.

As for the second date, she and her date made plans to meet up at a park near Seulgi’s place. It was only after an hour of waiting and a couple of calls that went unanswered on her dates’ end that she concluded that her date was not going to show up. She was a little bummed since their chats through the app seemed promising and to put it plainly, the woman was quite good looking. Any sane person would probably have given up on finding a partner through an app at this point but Seulgi was not someone who gave up that quickly when she started on something. Therefore, she was determined to give it at least one more go before letting life do its magic on its own. Or not.

So that is how she ended up giving up tickets to go to the theatre to watch “The Man Who Laughs” and ended up freeing her schedule to go on this date which ended up being one of the most unenthusiastic dates she had gone on. The woman by the name of Jieun, arrived 20 minutes late at their meeting place and proceeded to take a phone call which lasted another 20 minutes or so. After finally deciding on a place to go (she changed her mind about going to the restaurant they had previously discussed), they ended up going to a nightclub. And from there on out, she left Seulgi to make do by herself and lost herself into the crowd to “dance the night away” as she put it. What really bothered Seulgi was not the fact that she had hit the dance floor right away but that she did not bother to ask Seulgi to accompany her nor give her any indication that she was needed in any way. That left Seulgi scratching her head and wondering why oh why, was this “date” happening at all. After getting a drink for herself, a non-alcoholic one considering she had to drive back home, she settled down at the bar and observed the crowd. Thinking that her date had pretty much ditched her to do her own thing, she should at least try finding someone else interesting or interested enough to talk with. 

Not long after, someone did approach her. The thing was, that someone was also her ex-girlfriend. The one she had spent 2 years of her life with only to be told that she was boring as a girlfriend and it had been a waste of time for the relationship to have gone on for as long as it did. So it's quite safe to say, Seulgi did not want to stick around the place any longer, as optimistic of a person as she was. 

“So where have you been lately? Are you seeing someone new or what? You know what? We should have lunch one of these days and I can introduce you to my boyfriend. You must be shocked right? I’m into men too. You’d have known that if you weren’t always so preoccupied with whatever the hell it was that you were busy doing.” The ex-girlfriend, Sunmi, did not seem to get the hint and went on to rant about whatever came to her mind.

Seulgi sighed. “With all due respect, I don’t think any of that is any of your business. And no, I do not want to go on lunch with you or meet your boyfriend.” It’s not usual for her to be this direct in expressing her displeasure about something but things weren’t going well for her and having Sunmi come up and get all snarky with her set her off somewhat. 

She quickly downed her drink and paid the bill and left the place. Whatever Sunmi said in reply, she did not care enough to give even the littlest bit of attention to. It was better this way anyways. Sunmi had a habit of telling events as she saw fit even if it's far from what really happened. It was not that she was unaware of Sunmi being interested in men but rather that she didn’t care. Who would spend their time wondering about that anyways? If you are someone who is concerned about your girlfriend or boyfriend leaving you for someone else, be it same sex or opposite sex, you are either deeply insecure or there are some massive problems in your relationship. Seulgi did not share either of those sentiments. Afterall, it was Sunmi who was unsatisfied with their relationship.

Having all these thoughts run inside her head, Seulgi sighed again. This was the thing about being hung up over things that happened in the past. Or being reminded of them. You end up getting worked up over those events and opening up old wounds. She fiddled with the seatbelt of the car and made up her mind to go visit the small cafe near her apartment before calling it a night. She was someone who loved to eat, and right now she was very hungry and needed something to cheer herself up. 

Seulgi went in and was quite pleased to find that her favourite seat, the one that was at the far corner of the shop and offered a nice view of the street, was available. She quickly made her way there and waited for someone to come over so that she could make her order. She had visited the place enough to know what to order, bulgogi pasta with a nice ice lemon tea to complement it. 

“Hello, apologies for the wait. Would you like to take a look at the menu before ordering?” a melodic voice was heard saying. 

Since Seulgi was preoccupied with observing a stray cat across the street who was busily gnawing at some object on the ground, it took her a second to find the source of the voice. You know how in those cheesy movies how the protagonist has that moment of realisation that they had met “The One” and everything starts going in slow motion? Now this moment was exactly like that. The waitress, who she hadn’t met in any of her previous visits to the cafe, was someone who was beautiful beyond words. Jet black hair tied up in a ponytail with a few stray hairs falling down the side of her face. One of her ears was much bigger than the other, Seulgi observed. But it was definitely the cutest pair of ears she’d ever seen. Big doe eyes with happy glimmer in them and a polite smile greeted her and she was suddenly very aware that she had been caught staring. Seulgi quickly collected herself and stammered out an apology. 

“Uh..sorry. I’ll order now, yes. Beef bulgogi pasta with an ice tea, please.” 

“Would you prefer a honey ice tea or a lemon ice tea?” The waitress asked while jotting down the order on her notepad.

“Either is fine. You can choose.” Seulgi said while smiling up at her.

“Well in that case I’ll bring a lemon ice tea for you.” she chuckled and went away after a polite bow.

Seulgi watched her walk away with much interest. The woman was quite petit. Small and lean with a sway in her hips as she walked. Even from the back, her big ear was quite noticeable and that made Seulgi smile. She was a cute one alright. Seulgi sat there and tried to think of a way to get a conversation going with this new waitress while she sat there and waited for her food. Maybe this evening wasn’t going to turn out so badly after all.


	2. baby steps

**II**

After spending a few minutes pondering over the best course of action to get a conversation started, Seulgi finally settled for the most obvious approach. To ask her name and bring up not having seen the waitress during any of Seulgi’s previous visits. As simple as the idea maybe, considering the waitress appeared friendly, it looked to be a success. 

Seulgi took out her phone and started playing her favourite game of all time, Cooking Craze, while she waited for the waitress to come with her food. She was so immersed in the game that she did not notice even when the food was put on the table.

“Oh my god you play that game as well?!” It was this question that took her out of the trance she was in and focus on the present. 

“Oh yeah I was looking for some offline games to play and came across this one. From how enthusiastically you asked the question, I assume you play it as well?” Seulgi couldn’t help but tease the waitress and sure enough, the waitress blushed instantly.

“Yeah it gets a little slow during weekdays so I had to find something to do.” She replied.

“Ah, I see now. Have you been working here for long? I don’t recall seeing you before.” Seulgi finally asked the question on her mind.

“I’ve been working here for almost two months now. But I previously took the daytime shifts which might be why you didn’t meet me before.” Seulgi nodded. Considering that it was only in the evenings after work that she visited the cafe, the explanation made sense.

"Well in that case it's nice to meet you, Ms…?"

"Joohyun. Joohyun is my name and it's nice to meet you as well" The waitress said with a smile.

"Joohyun.. that's pretty. I'm Seulgi. I hope we see more of each other." It should be clear by now that Seulgi was totally enamored by the newly acquainted waitress. Whether it ends up being a good thing or bad thing, only time can tell. For now, Seulgi hoped that her future visits to the cafe would help bring them closer.

"Likewise. Enjoy your food and have a good night, Seulgi-ssi." Joohyun gave a small bow and left Seulgi to enjoy her food. 

****

Ever since she took on this one job drawing the art works for a new restaurant that was opening, she barely had time to do anything else. She had been commissioned to do 7 different pieces of drawings all of varying sizes. This was on top of other commissions which came in online via her business Instagram. It paid well enough surprisingly, and whenever she got a big job such as the restaurant one, she received enough to pay her rent for a couple of months at least.

It would take her about a week more to finish everything up but because she had been working non-stop for some 10 hours and counting, she decided to call it a day and go back to her apartment and take some much needed time to clean it up. Seulgi did have her own studio albeit a small one. However, if the work is not one too big in size she preferred to work in the spare room at her apartment. 

Seulgi decided to visit the department store nearby to get some cleaning supplies first. The clothes that she had been working in were splattered with paint and she was pretty sure the bag of detergent at home had nearly been depleted. It was when she was browsing through the cleaning supplies section that she came across a particular waitress who she had been meaning to visit, very determinedly trying to reach a bottle of fabric softener high up on the top shelf. 

Seulgi watched the scene with great amusement. The sight of tiny Joohyun hopping like a small little bunny trying to get a hold of the bottle of fabric softener was just way too cute for words. However, seeing that the little woman was close to being frustrated over the problem, Seulgi chuckled to herself and approached her.

“Would you like some help?” the woman before her jumped upon hearing those words.

“You surprised me!” The look on her face was one of fear and annoyance. Whether it was purely because of what Seulgi did, or the result of her inability to reach the high shelf, Seulgi couldn't conclude. Nevertheless, Joohyun still managed to look adorable and Seulgi couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d get so surprised. How about I help you get that bottle as an apology?” Seulgi asked, with a teasing smile on her face.

Joohyun blushed at that, quickly realising the predicament she was in and the fact that Seulgi had been there to witness it all.

“Yes please, and thank you.”

“No problem. I assume that’s your favourite brand seeing as how hard you were working to get it?” Not wanting to say goodbye so soon, Seulgi decided to satisfy her curiosity.

“Yeah it has a very nice flowery smell to it and you don’t need to use a lot of it when washing.” Joohyun replied.

“Oh? Is that so? I never bothered with those kinds of things. If something smells nice I just go for that without spending too much time weighing my options.” 

“Yeah I guess fabric softener hunting isn’t for everyone.” Despite her embarrassment, Joohyun managed to make a joke.

“Hey now, I’m not judging you by any chance. It’s just not something I do. Anyways, do you live in the area if you don’t mind me asking?” Seulgi asked to Joohyun’s relief.

“Not exactly. My sister does and I have been coming around to help her around since she is pregnant and having a bit of difficulty with household chores.” Joohyun explained.

Seulgi nodded to herself and wondered if she should just leave Joohyun to herself and let her complete her shopping or offer to help her out. Few seconds of pondering, and she decided to be a bit more brave this time.

“Ah, in that case is there any other items that I need you to help get from these shelves?” 

“It’s okay, I think I can manage. I don’t want to take your time but thank you for the offer.” Joohyun replied with a grateful smile.

“Oh okay. Well in that case I guess I’ll see you around, Joohyun.” Seulgi felt a little bummed but could understand why the other woman wouldn’t want to accept the offer. After all, they had only met once and were merely acquaintances. 

“Thank you for the help, Seulgi. I’ll be sure to give you a little treat next time you visit the cafe.”

“Oh wow. If that’s the case expect me to visit very soon.” Seulgi replied with a laugh. They bowed to each other and went their own ways.

On her journey home, Seulgi couldn’t help but feel accomplished by the interaction she had with Joohyun. They had basically agreed to meet again, technicalities be damned. She made a mental note to set an alarm in case she gets too into cleaning and ends up working til too late. She wanted to visit the cafe today itself.

  
  



	3. what do i know

III

It was 6:30pm in the evening when Seulgi finished taking care of her apartment and got around to visiting the cafe. She was greeted by the aroma of fresh coffee and something delightfully sweet when she stepped into the place. With a small smile on her face, she looked around to see if her new favourite waitress was in sight. To her relief and delight, Joohyun was just cleaning up the same table which was Seulgi’s favourite to sit at. 

Seulgi approached the table, making sure to clear her throat so as to avoid giving Joohyun another fright by appearing out of nowhere. 

The waitress turned at the sound and smiled upon seeing it was Seulgi.

“Oh I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Hang on, I’m almost done cleaning up. This is your favourite table isn’t it?” Joohyun asked.

“Oh? It is but how come you know about it?” Seulgi asked with surprise.

Joohyun instantly blushed at that. “Well..I might’ve asked the other waitresses about you. Since you mentioned you come here often.” 

“Is that so? Hmm. I didn’t think you were that interested in me.” Seulgi couldn’t help but feel a little bashful.

Joohyun blushed even further, so much that she was starting to resemble the colour of a tomato. 

"I mean..I just got curious. That's all. I'm sorry."

Seeing the state of the other women Seulgi couldn't help but feel a little bad. So she took her hand as to reassure her it was all in good fun.

"Hey.. it's alright. I'm flattered really. And you look cute when you get teased so I couldn't help it." Seulgi said gently.

"But since you did ask around about me, I think it's only fair that I get to know a little bit about you in return, don't you think?" 

Joohyun looked less nervous now and went on to give Seulgi a smile.

"I mean..if you want to, sure." 

Seulgi grinned in victory. "I don't want to keep you from working so how about we meet some other time?"

"Are you asking me on a date, Seulgi?" Joohyun retorted, to Seulgi's surprise. She wasn't expecting the woman who was a blushing mess just mere moments ago to get to the point all of a sudden.

"I won't lie to you. I find you very attractive and the little I've come to know about you has only made me want to get to know you. So yeah, if you don't mind calling it a date, it is a date." Seulgi held her breath. Even if Joohyun had done nothing but acted positively towards her, there was still a chance she might get rejected. What if Joohyun wasn't even single? Or not into women? Seulgi hadn't even thought to ask. 

Perhaps sensing that Seulgi's brain was going to override, Joohyun squeezed Seulgi's hand which was still holding hers.

"Hey, I'd very much like to go on a date with you. I'll be free this weekend. You can decide a time and a place, how about that?"

Seulgi almost punched her hand in the air then and there.   
"Well it's settled then. I'll pick you at 7pm then. Here take my phone, you can put your number in." 

Joohyun quickly input her number and handed Seulgi her phone and giving a small chuckle went on to ask if she was going to actually order anything.

"Oh now that you mention it, you did promise me a treat and I'll not be so foolish as to pass on that. I'll have something light and with a dalgona coffee as well, thank you." Seulgi replied.

"Well in that case, please wait for a little while. I'll be back with your promised treat and drink." 

Seulgi sat back and waited for Joohyun to come back. She felt giddy and excited for the coming weekend. The thought of getting to know Joohyun and spending more time with her was definitely gonna keep her up at night. While she looked online for suggestions for a first date (it had been a while since she went on one, give her a break), she snuck glances every now and then at Joohyun who was busy attending to another customer. Seulgi noted with pleasure that Joohyun was going through the same motions.

When Joohyun finally came to her with an appetizing looking quiche that frankly looked way too big to be not called a pie. 

"I know you said you wanted something light but I'm pretty sure I heard your stomach rumble earlier. Make sure to finish the whole thing!" Joohyun quickly set down the dish on the table and walked away whilst grinning at how Seulgi was the one red with embarrassment this time.

Seulgi couldn't help but feel touched at the gesture. The woman was looking even more like someone that's worth keeping.


	4. whatever awaits us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big date

IV  
It was finally Saturday, also known as the day Seulgi and Joohyun go on their first ever date. They had kept in touch via text messages and shared anecdotes relating to their work and daily life. They shared information on their respective family backgrounds. How Seulgi was from Ansan and belonged to a family with one older brother and how she moved out to live a little more freely. Her interests and work, as well as her hobbies which included singing and dancing. Joohyun shared excitedly that she also liked to dance and was more than able to get over 90 points at the karaoke on any trot song with no problem. She also disclosed that her sibling was younger than her by a few years. 

Seulgi also came to know about the unfortunate reason she had to resort to working at a café. A few months ago, the company Joohyun worked at underwent a restructuring process and her position as a marketing assistant was one which was deemed redundant. Although the situation was unfortunate, she could not find it in herself to be mad at the company. They had treated her well during the 3 years she worked at the company and the only reason that she was let go was due to the fact there were two other employees in the same position who were senior to her. They also made sure to give her a decent severance package as well.

Due to those events, and the fact that her younger sister was heavily pregnant, she ended up moving in to help her around the house. However, there were only so many things to do everyday so her sister pushed her to get a part-time job which is why she ended up working as a waitress. Joohyun was not someone who measured status by the kind of work someone did, and thus, though she had a college degree and only worked office jobs previously, she did not hesitate to take on the job and learn something new. It even ended up making her even more empathetic towards those who have to work in the service industry.

Hearing all this, Seulgi couldn't help but admire Joohyun even more. It's not every day you come across someone so mature and smart and with such admirable beliefs as well. Most people were too cocky for their own good, as far as Seulgi had experienced. It was nice to come across someone who was genuinely that selfless. 

All those musings aside, Seulgi was all glamed up and ready for her date. By that, it meant that she had ditched her usual plaid shirts and jeans and opted to wear a black turtleneck sweater, a nice thick blazer to keep her warm and tight black pants. She put her hair in a clean bun and wore some minimal makeup as well. She didn't want to appear too laid back but also didn't want to go overboard with her appearance. The plan was for Seulgi to pick Joohyun up from her residence and for them to go out for dinner and then maybe walk around whatever neighborhood they were. 

Seulgi made sure to arrive at Joohyun's place a few minutes early and nervously rang the bell and waited. The opened up about a minute later and Seulgi could not find it in her to say a word. Joohyun had also made the choice to wear a sweater that night but she had her hair down which was just beautiful beyond words. She looked like one of those CEOs from a femme fatale movie to be honest. Her aura was that strong. Seulgi came to her senses after a few seconds had passed. 

"You pull off that turtleneck better than I do!" She remarked, and immediately cringed at herself.

"It's fine, silly! Stop being so cautious and be comfortable around me. I think I'll like it better if you don't censor your thoughts around me." Joohyun told Seulgi with a gentle laugh.

Even with the reassurance, Seulgi couldn't help but feel a little awkward but she was glad Joohyun was being so sweet and understanding. 

"Yeah well, I'm known to be a little deapan sometimes and that can be a little off-putting for some people." Seulgi explained as she guided Joohyun towards her car.

"It's nothing to worry about around me. I think people end up saying the funniest things when they speak their mind. And of course, the most honest."

Seulgi chuckled. 

"Well it's definitely true you look better in that turtleneck. I really wasn't prepared for it I think."

Joohyun blushed at that. "Seulgi, if you are going to flirt that much, I don't think I can survive the night."

"You can call it flirting but I'll call it being honest. That's what you asked of me, isn't it?" And with that Seulgi knew she had won.

With a roll of her eyes Joohyun got in the car and instead of reply she just laughed at Seulgi's pleased expression.

"So where are we going? You never told me that." Joohyun asked.

"Oh you know, I thought it'd be better to have some food first and then we could take a walk if you don't mind. I have something planned and I'm pretty sure you'll like it." 

"I'm glad we are having dinner first. I'd have hated to walk around on an empty stomach." Joohyun joked.

****************  
Once they arrived at the restaurant, Joohyun couldn't help but look at Seulgi questioningly. After all, she had brought up the topic of modernized traditional food and expressed her desire to go to such a place. She was quite sure Seulgi had picked the place due to that and it was indeed confirmed when Seulgi smiled back at her and asked her if she was excited to try the food. Joohyun was quite touched. She had left it up to Seulgi to decide on a date activity and it was quite nice that she had weighed Joohyun's likes into picking a place. It was nice to see she had paid proper attention to their text conversations.

The ambiance of the restaurant was quite nice and though it appeared to be quite full, she was glad to see the arrangement of tables still managed to give the diners some privacy. After Seulgi gave her name to the waiter, the couple were guided to their table and given some time to make their orders.

"I know I brought it but I sure wasn't expecting you to bring me here."

"Well you know, you mentioned wanting to experience this and after hearing you talk about it, I also got curious to see what the fuss is about. I think it'll be nice to experience something new together." Seulgi said the last sentence with some hesitance.

Joohyun's eyes softened. "I agree. I think it'll be a nice memory to look back on as well."

She reached across the table and Seulgi's hand a little squeeze. It was heartwarming to see Seulgi put so much thought and heart into this, even though it was just the beginning of everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking so long and for not completing the date scene. Felt it was getting a little too long for my tastes so cut it a tad short. 
> 
> Hope quarantine is going well for everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever work. All comments are welcome :)


End file.
